Overwatch player discovers powerful Sigma tactic for payload maps

New Overwatch hero Sigma released to the Public Test Realm (PTR) on July 23, and players are already finding clever ways of making the most of his abilities.

Sigma is the game’s 31st hero, an eccentric astrophysicist who’s unaware he’s been turned into a living weapon and is now working with Talon.

The latest addition to the tank roster, Sigma brings some unique new mechanics to Overwatch, and players on the PTR have already begun figuring out how best to use them.

Sigma’s ultimate ability, Gravitic Flux, allows Sigma to take flight and target an area in which any enemy players will be thrown into the air, where they are temporarily held before being slammed back down, taking 50% of their maximum health as damage.

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As u/8uzz1n discovered, however, dealing damage isn’t the only use for Sigma’s ultimate. On Escort of Hybrid maps, it can be used by teams on the defensive side to outright win games in overtime.

When maps with a payload go to overtime, players on the offensive team must stay on the objective at all times to keep it moving forward. If none of the attackers are on the payload, the overtime clock runs down and the defenders win the round. The longer overtime lasts, the quicker the clock will run out.

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It turns out that Sigma’s Gravitic Flux carries players high enough above the payload that they are no longer considered to be touching it, and after a certain point in overtime this is long enough to simply end the round before the players come back down.

The area of Sigma’s ultimate is large enough that it can cover an entire payload, so when placed correctly it should be able to reliably clear players off of the objective.

Naturally, there are heroes that can counter the pull of the Gravitic Flux – Orisa’s Fortify, for instance, or Mei’s Iceblock, make their respective heroes impervious to crowd control effects. Nevertheless, it seems Sigma could be a powerful hero to have in an overtime scenario.